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Columbus, Ohio - October 1, 2017 - Abigail McArdle, Wellington, FL, and Cade, owned by her father, David, won the $50,000 Lugano Diamonds Grand Prix 1.45m in decisive fashion as she bested a field of 56 International competitors from 13 countries at the Split Rock Jumping Tour's Columbus International CSI 2* at Brave Horse Show Park in Johnstown, Ohio.

McArdle and Cade, a 15-year-old gelding by Heartbreaker, were the second of nine to qualify for the jump off. The pair turned in a very quick time of 37.87 seconds with none of the fences lowered."I am really happy and a bit emotional," said McArdle. "I have had this horse for four years, he is my personal mount, in fact he is owned by my father. I love his attitude. Today he came out and he wanted to win. From the first round to the end of the jump off he wanted it. I know it is funny to say that about a horse, but you can feel the difference in him. He just wanted to go clean no matter what and he was totally game in the jump off. I knew going into the second round that I had to do all the big leave outs I thought I could do, then be fast in the turns, and be clean. I had to give it my best go to be as fast as I could. It all worked today.""Abby has gotten a lot of experience this year riding different horses," said Katie Prudent. "She works with my son Adam in his sales business, and Abby rides a lot of the sale horses. When you ride a lot of different horses and have different experiences it gets the rider in the groove. I thought she rode fantastic this week and Cade is her good old, faithful boy that she had had for several years, and the horse just jumped unbelievably. I am so happy for her."Emanuel Andrade, VEN, and Reus De La Nutria were the only other horse and rider combination to leave all the fences intact. Though he tried, Andrade's time of 38.88 seconds was not fast enough to knock McArdle out of the top spot.Opaline Z and Alexis Trosch, ARG, were the fastest over the jump off course, 37.78 seconds, but paid the penalty for their speed with a rail down for a total of four penalty points and third place.SRJT Columbus International $50,000 CSI 2* Lugano Diamonds Grand Prix 1.45mHorse/Rider/Prize/Round 1 F | T/Jump Off F | T1 CADE/ABIGAIL MC ARDLE/$12,500/0 | 75.38/0 | 37.872 REUS DE LA NUTRIA/EMANUEL ANDRADE/$10,000/0 | 72.8/0 | 38.883 OPALINE Z/ALEXIS TROSCH/$7,500/0 | 76.98/4 | 37.784 ZIEZO/SCOTT LENKART/$5,000/0 | 76.55/4 | 37.835 DICAS/MARGIE GOLDSTEIN-ENGLE/$3,500/0 | 74.91/4 | 38.036 BUGATTI/WILHELM GENN/$2,750/0 | 75.77/4 | 38.567 WILLOW/ALEJANDRO KAROLYI/$2,000/0 | 76.65/4 | 40.718 BOCKMANNS LAZIO/MARGIE GOLDSTEIN-ENGLE/$1,500/0 | 73.71/8 | 39.489 JARCOBOND VAN DEN OUDE EIK/CHRISTINE MC CREA/$1,500/0 | 74.51/14 | 53.4710 SHIVER/LIZA FINSNESS/$1,250/1 | 77.0511 RICORE COURCELLE/EMANUEL ANDRADE/$1,250/1 | 77.612 CATANGO/MICHAEL HUTCHINSON/$1,250/1 | 78.46Schedule highlights for SRJT include:Week 2: The Columbus International 2 CSI3* - October 4-8The FEI classes include the $35,000 CSI3* 1.45m Hollow Creek Farm Speed Cup, $40,000 Amalaya Investments CSI3* 1.50m Welcome Class and the $130,000 CSI3* 1.55m Split Rock Farm Grand Prix."Lugano Diamonds Party" with Bonus Private ConcertThe highly anticipated SRJT social event, "The Lugano Diamonds Party," will take place at Brave Horse on Friday evening, October 6. Admission is $150 per person. Following the dinner, there will be a private concert, included in the dinner admission, by well-known country singer, Sam Riggs!About Split Rock Jumping TourThe Split Rock Jumping Tour is modeled after successful European shows and gives competitors, sponsors and spectators an "Unparalleled Show Jumping Experience" by changing the way show jumping is presented in the U.S. Split Rock offers competitions at world-class venues along with top prize money, extravagant awards and numerous first-class amenities for riders, owners, sponsors, and spectators, with close attention paid to every detail.About Brave Horse Show Park

The new facility is a 75-acre premier equestrian showgrounds located minutes outside of Columbus in Johnstown, Ohio. The facility debuted its first hunter/jumper show season in 2016 and operated at capacity. The showgrounds feature a meticulously planned layout with 250 permanent stalls, each measuring 12'x12', with 16' aisle ways and a 20' high ceiling. The expansive property includes multiple rings and riding areas and the Grand Prix Ring, one of two to be used for competition, is 250' x 350'. All rings have state-of-the-art-footing and the Grand Prix ring features in-ground irrigation. The showgrounds also take advantage of the picturesque Ohio countryside, with expansive tree-lined vistas and water features throughout the grounds.SRJT Columbus International Official Photographer: Winslow Photography LLC.For more details about the Split Rock Jumping Tour, please visit www.SplitRockJumpingTour.com or call 859-252-3247. Online entries can be found at: www.splitrockjumpingtour.com/competitor.